Snowfall blocks road to Valley; fog hits rail, air traffic

Normal life was badly hit in Jammu and Kashmir due to heavy snowfall, which cut off the Valley from rest of the country even as the weatherman issued a "medium danger" avalanche warning for parts of the state and neighbouring Himachal Pradesh.

The national capital, which witnessed a clear sky today, might receive light rains early morning. Though the visibility this morning was better than what was being recorded over the past few days, 70 trains were running late by several hours due to fog.

"Light rains or thundershowers might occur in some areas (of Delhi) tonight or early tomorrow morning," a MeT official said.

"The maximum temperature was recorded at 24.4 degrees Celsius, five notches above normal, while the minimum settled at 11.5 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal," the official said.

Normal life was thrown out of gear as Jammu and Kashmir summer capital received heaviest snowfall this season. Operations at Srinagar International Airport were suspended and all flights for the day cancelled.

Srinagar-Jammu national highway has been closed for traffic due to bad weather, virtually cutting off the Valley from rest of the country. Kashmir University postponed all examinations scheduled for tomorrow and the day after due to the snowfall in the Valley.

The MET Office has forecast widespread snowfall or rains over the next two days also.
During the last 24 hours, there has been heavy snowfall in Gulmarg, the star attraction for tourists visiting the Valley during winter, and peripheral areas including Khilanmarg, Kongdoori and Afferwath.

Bad weather conditions forced Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat to end his 3-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir on the second day.

Meanwhile, a "medium danger" avalanche warning has been issued for some districts of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh for the next 24 hours, advising people not to venture into avalanche-prone areas.

The warning is valid for avalanche-prone areas of Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora, Kishtwar, Rajauri, Doda, Poonch and Riyasi districts of Jammu and Kashmir for the next 24 hours, Snow and Avalanche Study Centre said.

Also, a "medium danger" warning was issued for some areas of Chamba and Lahaul and Spiti districts of Himachal Pradesh.

In Rajasthan, several trains were cancelled, rescheduled or are delayed due to foggy conditions.

While seven trains are running late, North-Western Railway cancelled Howrah-Jodhpur/Bikaner, Merta-Road Bikaner, Jodhpur-Howrah and Bikaner-Howrah trains. Ajmer-Jammutawi, Ajmer-Sealdah and Jaipur-Allahabad have been rescheduled.

Night temperatures increased marginally in parts of the state with Dabok being the coldest at of 8.2 degrees Celsius.

Foggy weather condition in Punjab and Haryana affected air, rail and road traffic in the two states though minimum temperatures in the region were recorded several notches above normal.

Major cities in Bihar, parts of which have been witnessing dense to very dense fog, are expected to see a further decline in temperature due to westerly winds. The Met office has predicted isolated dense to very dense fog across the state over the next two-three days.